RWBY: Deadly Monsters and how to Hunt them!
by BoxinShrimp
Summary: Ruby and Yang set off to become great Monster Hunters like their parents! When the two of them are recruited by a mysterious silver-haired Caravaneer along with a prissy noble and a introverted self-reliant girl, they'll all have to learn to work together to defeat a deadly new Elder Dragon called the Gore Magala, a wyvern that spreads death and madness wherever its shadow is cast.
1. Jagged Japes

The ancestral steppe was in a peaceful state today. The sun shined brightly, a light breeze swept over the land ever so lightly, greeting anything and everything with its gentle caress.

A pair of Jaggis nestled together by a gentle creek, lapping up the cool crisp water as a way to cool off after a successful hunt. Though when one Jaggi overstepped its boundaries and tried to snatch a fish from the creek, the other violently snapped at it. The two Jaggis began to bicker and snap amongst themselves, their various howls and yips filling the air.

Their small argument was silenced however, by the light shaking of the ground below them. The Jaggis heads lowered as they began to quickly scramble for individual hiding spots. The shaking of the ground became fierce, the sound of stomping closing in on the two of them.

In an instant, one Jaggi was snapped up and thrown to the side. As it rolled to the ground, it let out a yelp and scrambled to its feet. The other Jaggi had taken the hint beforehand and fled, not wanting to take any chances.

As the now injured Jaggi limped away, the creature that had attacked it let out a triumphant roar that almost sounded like a strange bark of sorts.

The sun shined upon the creature, bathing it in its warmth. It was a particularly massive Jaggi, a Great Jaggi if you will. The alpha of its pack, the cream of the crop. It was a strong and massive Jaggi. That's the best way of describing it.

The Great Jaggi began to lap at the water, just as the two smaller Jaggis before it had been doing. This particular Great Jaggi had a very successful afternoon. It had taken its pack and raided a smaller supply caravan of all its delicious meats, and now it was getting a well deserved drink.

The Great Jaggi continued to enjoy the water, until suddenly a snap was heard nearby. The Great Jaggis head shot upwards, glancing behind it as it let out a vicious growl to hopefully scare away whatever was even thinking of getting anywhere near its domain.

After a brief moment of silence, the Great Jaggi returned to the creek in front of it. But just before its mouth reached the water, the sound of rocks being stirred from their resting spots filled the air.

Again, the Great Jaggis head spun around, only this time its entire body followed suit. The Great Jaggi stomped forward, determined to find the source of the noises that it was hearing.

Another brief moment of silence before the sound of rushing wind could be briefly heard to the Great Jaggis right. Its head spun to face what had made the noise, something with wings obviously. However, yet again there was nothing to be found.

The Great Jaggi was about to turn back towards the creek for a final time before once more, a sound rang out from its surroundings. This sound however, was much louder, much clearer and came from some sort of creature.

"BANZAAAII!"

In an instant, the Great Jaggi felt something slam into its abdomen, the surprise attack catching it off balance enough to force it to the ground. As it began struggling to get up, it failed to notice the figure that stood in front of it.

The frame of a very, very small human stood in front of the beast, holding a sword that was at least as big as she was, if not even bigger. The girl was clad in red and black, her silver eyes observing the beast as her mouth curved into a smile.

She was a huntress who had found her prey.

The Great Jaggi rolled to its feet and turned to the human that had attacked it, gnashing its teeth at her as it took a step forward.

"So you're the big lizard that took down that caravan, huh? Well, prepare for a- WOAH!"

The small huntress rolled to the side as the Great Jaggi came charging forward, its jaws snapping at her as she tumbled to the ground. She quickly scrambled to her feet and threw a heavy downward slash at the beast, striking it square in the head. The Great Jaggi was largely unphased by the blow, but opted for using a tail sweep instead of charging headfirst into a bad situation again. The huntress attempted to dodge the sweeping attack, but she was not quick enough.

The tail knocked her onto her rear, giving the beast an opportunity to try and bite down on the huntress once more. The huntress gasped as she watched the beasts jaws close in on her, shutting her eyes when it looked like her fate had been sealed.

However, the sound of shouting and crashing quickly made her open her eyes again, only to see yet another huntress leaping into the fray to help her. This second huntress was clad in yellow and brown, though in comparison to the first she had even less in the ways of practical armor. Some brown shorts, and a yellow tank top paired with a brown short sleeved jacket were all that covered her body. Her weapons on the other hand, were certainly fierce.

Two gauntlets with the strangest contraptions attached to them. Each gauntlet had a strange pole mounted on them, with smaller spear looking poles inside the bigger ones. With a single punching motion, the spears propelled outwards and stabbed into the Great Jaggis face, sending it back down to the ground.

The yellow huntress quickly rushed over to her ally, and began helping her off the ground.

"Ruby, what the heck are you doing?! You were supposed to call me when you found the jaggi, not charge in!"

"Sorry, Yang. I just saw it and I got all excited. I mean, this is our first real hunt!"

"Yeah, I'm excited too. But I don't want it to be our last!"

As the two of them bickered amongst themselves, the Great Jaggi managed to drag itself to its feet, letting out a short roar as it charged back towards the two huntresses.

"Woah, look out!"

Both Yang and Ruby separated from each other and allowed the Great Jaggi to charge through them. Ruby decided to take an extra swing at it while it was charging, landing a solid blow on its abdomen as it passed by. Once the beast slowed to a stop, it turned to see both huntresses closing in on it. In an attempt to catch them with an attack, the Great Jaggi quickly performed a hip check, thrusting its body towards its attackers. Both huntresses were caught by surprise, however Yang was able to react quick enough to extend both spears out of her gauntlets in an X shape, blocking a portion of the blow. She was just able to keep her footing, but Ruby wasn't so lucky. The force of the blow flung her backwards and onto the ground once more.

While the Great Jaggi was recovering from the attack, Yang quickly charged up to it and began pummeling it, the spears from her gauntlets firing out and stabbing into its scales with every swing of her fists. With every blow she landed, she could feel heat building up in her gauntlets until finally she felt they were sufficiently charged. The Great Jaggi responded to her attacks by attempting to sink its teeth into Yang, but she quickly retracted her gauntlets and rolled away from the beasts head.

Yang charged closer to the Great Jaggis head and unleashed a powerful attack, using the built up heat in her gauntlets to create a small explosion at the end of her punch. The Great Jaggi staggered from the force of the blow, but this time it managed to keep its footing. It decided that instead of countering, it would leap backwards and call for the aid of its pack. As the Great Jaggi reared its head up and began bellowing, it failed to notice the red blur that had shot out from the ledge just above it.

Ruby swung her greatsword downwards, hitting the Great Jaggi square in the head. She noticed that as her sword connected, not only did the Great Jaggi collapse onto the ground, but its frill also broke into small, shredded pieces. As both Ruby and the Great Jaggi tumbled to the ground, Ruby instinctively reached out to grab onto anything she could to stop herself from eating dirt once again.

And the first thing she latched on to was the back of the Great Jaggi itself.

The beast shot back onto its feet and began violently thrashing, the small red huntress hanging onto it for dear life.

"AAAH YANG HELP ME I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO NOW!"

"Why did you jump on it in the first place?!"

"I DON'T KNOW I THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA AT FIRST!"

Yang rolled her eyes as she ran towards the beast. "Just remember what dad taught us! Use your hunting knife and stab it when it tires itself out!"

And then, Yang felt something heavy slam into her and force her to the ground. As she scrambled to her feet, she saw three Jaggis had gathered around her. obviously hearing the call of their pack leader, they had quickly charged into the fray and singled her out. They were easy enough to deal with, a few punches here and there were enough to take them all out, but it was still troublesome to deal with them while her sister was in trouble.

The Great Jaggi finally stopped for a brief moment to catch its breath, which gave Ruby the chance she was looking for. She quickly pulled out her small hunting knife and plunged it into the Great Jaggis back. The beast shuddered for a moment before it began thrashing itself around violently once more, forcing Ruby to grab onto it with both of her hands so she wouldn't fall off. Once the beast tired itself out again, Ruby took it upon herself to start stabbing at it multiple times instead of just once.

After a few more stabs, she heard the creature let out a pained yelp as it rolled to the ground and tossed her off. Once Ruby got to her feet, she saw the Great Jaggi thrashing around in the dirt, rubbing its back into the ground as if it were trying to awkwardly scratch an itch. Seeing this as a perfect opportunity, she brought out her greatsword and charged at the creature, where she began carving into it with brutal swings. Yang joined her shortly afterwards, having taken care of all the smaller Jaggis in her way.

"Nice job sis!" She complimented as she began pummeling the creatures face with her gauntlets.

It wasn't long before the Great Jaggi scrambled to its feet, both huntresses hopping back so they wouldn't get hit by any stray limbs as it did. Both of them readied for another attack from the Great Jaggi, but instead the creature backed away from them and began to limp towards the nearby burrow.

"It's trying to run away! Lets finish this!"

Ruby hiked her greatsword up onto her shoulder as she began chasing after the Great Jaggi, while Yang had an idea of her own. She quickly hopped up onto the ledge and charged towards the burrow that the Great Jaggi was limping towards. Just before she reached the end of the ledge, she lunged off the side towards the Great Jaggi itself. She swung her gauntlet right into the side of the Great Jaggis head, the spear stabbing right into its eye.

With this one final, vicious blow to the head, the Great Jaggi let out one final roar as it collapsed on the ground, dead.

Both Yang and Ruby stood over it, panting heavily as they looked over their first official kill.

Ruby was the first one to let out her triumphant cheer, hopping up and down in place as she did.

"We did it! WE REALLY DID IT! We are so totally awesome now!"

Yang turned to her sister with a grin, giving her a thumbs up as she did. "Damn straight! We're official huntresses now, baby!"

Yang folded up her gauntlets before she stepped towards the beasts corpse. "And now, we get to the best part!"

"I thought killing the monster was the best part?"

"Okay, the second best part."

Yang pulled out her hunting knife as she crouched down beside the Great Jaggi, plunging it deep into its scales.

"What are you doing?"

"Don't you remember what dad told us? You gotta carve off the best parts so you can make even cooler armor and weapons!"

Ruby smacked herself in the head. How could she forget that? It was half the reason that she became a hunter in the first place! She quickly pulled out her knife and joined her sister, the two of them carving off the best parts they could find.

After they had finished, the two of them began walking back to base camp before Ruby noticed a group of Felynes lugging a particularly massive cart towards the corpse of the Great Jaggi.

"Hey Yang, what are the kitties doing?"

"Dad said something about the guild bringing back the corpses so they can salvage whatever we don't get. Anything important that we might have missed will also be given to us when we get back to town."

"Oooh. Cool!"

Once the two of them got back to base camp, they deposited all the materials they had found into their bags before they boarded the wagon back to Val Harbor, where they could get a well deserved rest.

"YEEEESSS!"

Ruby held up her official hunting license, letting the sun glisten off of it as she stared at her own name. Anyone that walked by could see her silver eyes glittering with excitement as she hugged her license to her chest. Yang had also taken to admiring hers a bit before she stowed it away in a very... interesting spot.

"Yang, what the heck?!"

"What?"

"Our licenses are important! They signify that we're official hunters! You shouldn't just... stuff it in between your boobs like that!"

"Well, important places for important items, right? Besides, do you SEE any pockets on my outfit?"

Ruby just let out a sigh as the two of them continued to walk along, before Ruby collided with a person in the street. She fell to the ground with a thud, rubbing her head in pain as she sat up.

"Hey, watch where you're going!" Ruby heard her sister shout as she slowly got to her feet.

"My apologies, miss."

Ruby looked up at the man she had run into, his brown eyes gazing into her with what she could only assume was curiosity, but it could have been the light reflecting off his glasses. He was an older man, but still well within what could be considered his youth. He had a particularly fancy looking cane with a shiny gemstone embedded in the handle, probably from a rare monster. His silvery, short hair seemed to glitter a bit in the sun as he reached down for something on the ground.

"I believe you dropped this, Ms... Rose, is it?"

Ruby quickly brushed her hands around various pockets she had, as if she hadn't dropped her license on the ground. Once she took her license back from the man, she stuffed it in one of her more important pockets.

"Thanks! I dunno what I would have done if I lost the license I JUST got!"

The man looked at the two of them, curiosity now practically burning in his eyes. "Oh? Are the two of you new huntresses?"

"Yep! We just got done hunting a Great Jaggi that attacked a small supply caravan." Yang flexed her arm a bit as she bragged.

"Very interesting. If I may ask, what Caravan are you a part of?"

The two of them glanced at each other in confusion before they looked back at the man.

"Caravan?"

"Come now, you must be in a caravan. Any Hunter that can be considered worthy is in one."

"WHAAAT?!"

Yang scratched the back of her head. "Dad never mentioned anything like that..."

Ruby grabbed hold of her free arm and began pulling at it. "Come on, Yang! We gotta find a Caravan like, right now!"

"Hm. If I may make a suggestion, Ms. Rose?"

The two of them stopped as they turned back towards the man.

"If you are in need of a Caravan, you may be in luck. I happen to know someone who is in need of a fresh team of Hunters."

"YOU DO?!"

"Yes, I do. You just happen to be looking right at him."

The man held out his hand, smiling a bit as he did.

"My name is Ozpin. Perhaps maybe you two would like to join my Caravan?"


	2. Caravan Corral

Ruby could barely contain her excitement as she skipped alongside her sister and this Ozpin guy. Her first day as a new huntress was just getting better and better with every passing minute! First she kills her first big monster, then she gets her license, and now? She gets to join a Caravan and travel the world!

Val Harbor was a very beautiful place, but she would love to see what the rest of the world held for her. Places to see, people to help and most importantly, exotic monsters to hunt!

The three of them turned down a particularly wide alley, which lead to a small open field filled with Caravans of all different sizes. Ruby ogled all the varying weapons, armors and hunters she saw camping out as they walked by. She did let out a small whine when Yang grabbed her hand, knowing full well that her sister would take off and try to start conversations about weapons with whichever one caught her eye. Which would probably be all of them.

Finally, the three came upon a rather... small sized caravan all the way in the back. Almost as soon as they stepped within a few feet of the Caravan, they heard someone shout out to Ozpin.

"WHERE EXACTLY HAVE YOU BEEN, OZPIN?!"

Both Ruby and Yang flinched when a particularly nasty blonde haired woman approached Ozpin and began ranting in his face.

"You've been gone for almost two days now without a single word! We're supposed to be waiting here for our two new recruits, and imagine my surprise when I find out that our Caravaneer isn't even present to greet them when they arrive! Not only that but-"

The woman stopped talking for a brief moment as she glanced over at the pair of huntresses before her.

"Well then. I see you've at least taken some initiative by meeting our new recruits."

"Actually, Glynda. I did not."

The woman called Glynda blinked a few times before she adjusted her glasses.

"Then who exactly are these two?"

"Oh, they are indeed new recruits. But they are not the new recruits we were already expecting."

"...So this is what you've been doing these last two days? Color me impressed."

"Actually no, my real intention for my trip into town was to restock our supplies."

"What? We restocked our supplies the day we arrived, what on earth could you possibly... Oh, don't tell me..."

"Yes, it appears that we had run out of coffee beans during our last trip. So I took the initiative to get more."

"I swear, you and Oobleck could demolish an entire forest of coffee beans in only a single afternoon if given the chance!"

Glynda stormed off towards a small station that had been set up near one of the Caravan's larger vehicles. There were all manner of documents strewn about near the station, most of them in piles, others were pinned to a bulletin board.

As soon as she sat down, she shot a small glare at the two huntresses before beckoning them over. They glanced to Ozpin in confusion, only to find that he had completely vanished. After a brief moment of searching for him, they both shrugged to each other and decided to head over to Glyndas desk.

"Very well then. I am Ms. Glynda Goodwitch, the Caravans Guild Marm. If you are going to join our Caravan, then I'll need to see your hunting licenses."

The two of them nodded as they both pulled out their licenses and handed them over to Glynda. She glanced at them for only a brief moment before she began furiously jotting down information on paper.

"Ms. Rose, I see that you are a Greatsword user. I trust you realize that such a large weapon can be considered powerful, but dangerous for both yourself and others around you, yes?"

"Oh, trust me. I know more than anyone else." Yang mumbled as she rolled her eyes and folded her arms, before she shot an annoyed glance at her sister, who simply smiled nervously and shrugged in return.

"Yeah I may have hit Yang a few times during our training exercises. Like, a lot of few times. But I've gotten better though! When we were hunting earlier today I only hit her twice! And I didn't even hit her at all when we were fighting the Great Jaggi!"

Glynda adjusted her glasses as she stared at the small huntress before her. In all her years of working with Ozpin, she was surprise that THIS was the point where she was beginning to question his sanity. He had recruited a few sketchy hunters and huntresses before, but these two...? What did he see in them?

"And you, Ms. Xiao Long... I see you wield a weapon that can be considered 'exotic' and quite rare. I must admit that I have never seen a Tonfa user myself."

"Yep! Dad says that Tonfa users are from the eastern Frontier, waaaay out there on the other side of the world."

"I see. It may prove difficult to provide you with substantial upgrades to your weapons given these facts. While I am sorting out your paperwork, I would like you to go see our smith. I'm sure he will be ecstatic to meet two fresh huntresses such as yourselves."

The two of them gave a short nod before they walked off towards the smithy.

"Man, she's scary..."

"Yeah, really seems like something crawled up her-"

"Oho! And what do we have here? Our two new recruits have finally graced me with their presence!"

The two of them were startled a bit when they approached the furnace. A rather tall fellow stepped out from the room that was built into the side to greet them. He wore a light red vest with, unfortunately, nothing else underneath it, revealing a few scars on his chest. He also wore light red pants that went down below his knees before stopping just before his ankles. His hair was short, grey and styled. To go along with it, he had a rather large and well groomed grey mustache.

"My name is Peter Port! But you can just call me Port!"

"Nice to meet you Mr. Port! I'm Ruby!"

Yang leaned on top of her sisters head, pushing Ruby down a bit as she announced her presence. "And I'm her older sister, Yang!"

Ruby slapped her sisters arm off her head and stood back up to her full height. She glanced around Mr. Port's workspace to see a number of unfinished weapons strewn about.

"So, are you the caravans blacksmith, Mr. Port?"

"Why, my dear girl. I am no mere 'blacksmith' as you say, I am a weapons and armor artisan!"

The pair exchange unimpressed glances before Port garnered their attention by holding up a rather impressive sword.

"Just look at the fine detail on my latest commissioned work! This sword is made from rare materials that only come from a very rare wyvern known as the Seregios!"

Ruby's eyes widened to about three times larger than ever before, her mouth practically watering over the sword presented in front of her. Yang was scared for her sister.

"Oh my gosh. Ohmygosh ohmygosh! Seregios are super rare, they only live in super isolated areas and are really hard to document! I LOVE how they fire off their scales at their prey! And that sword! It is so beautiful, I can easily see that it came from such a cool wyvern! Can I hold it, PLEASE?!"

"Afraid not, my dear! This sword was a very, VERY pricey commission. I would prefer not take any risks with it. But I AM glad that I have found a huntress who can appreciate the finer details of my craft!"

Ruby whimpered and whined as Port wrapped the sword up in a cloth and placed it in a nearby crate. Yang decided to take out a cloth of her own and wipe the drool off her sisters face in the meantime.

"Now then, may I ask what mighty weapons our new recruits wield while locked in fierce combat?"

"I have my greatsword! It's pretty great. And big."

"Aah yes, the greatsword. A classic weapon, almost as timeless as the sword and shield combination! I personally prefer a good old fashioned Switch Axe!"

"And I use-"

"Merciful Monoblos! Is that a pair of Tonfas I see, young lady?"

"Uuh. Yeah, I was just about to-"

"I haven't worked on that magnificent weapon family in years! Ozpin has really outdone himself this time if he has recruited a huntress with knowledge of the eastern frontier like yourself!"

Yang and Ruby exchanged another glance as Port began ranting on about how great the past weapons he made were, which carried on for a good five minutes before he interrupted himself..

"However, now that I see that we have a rare and exotic huntress in our midst, I am going to excuse myself, ladies. I need to get to work finding those old Tonfa blueprints I had from years back, so I can provide you with my best services!"

Before the two of them could even offer a word, Port disappeared back into his wagon. Both of them shrugged and decided to head back over to Glynda to see was finished with their paperwork yet. When they got back, Glynda was clearly worse for wear, as there were papers strewn all about the desk and the ground near said desk.

"Apologies, girls. I'm not finished yet. Your paperwork is proving to be a bit more difficult to sort out, given the fact that you only just got your licenses today."

There was what seemed like a hint of sarcasm in her voice, but it was hard to tell given that maybe that was just her default tone.

"Our traveling merchant, Bartholomew Oobleck has just returned from his trip to town, so I would suggest that you two go introduce yourselves to him as well. Seeing as how the two of you will be using him to get supplies and materials regularly."

"You got it, marmy."

"I'll ask you to refrain from ever calling me that again, Ms. Xiao Long."

"Whatever you say Ms. Marmwitch!"

Glynda could feel one of her eyes twitching as she watched the sisters walk away. She had a bad feeling that she'd rather spend time with a pack of Genprey then deal with these two in the future.

As the two of them approached the empty merchant stand, they glanced around for a moment before Ruby called out for the merchant.

"Uuh, hello? Mr. Oobleck? We're here to meet you!"

"Ah yes hello ladies! I see you're our new recruits!"

"AGH!" Ruby screamed as she hopped forward, revealing that Oobleck had been standing behind them the entire time. Before the two of them could even turn around to say anything, Oobleck zipped back behind his stand in front of them.

"I uh, I-I'm Ruby and-"

"Yes, Ms. Ruby Rose and Ms. Yang Xiao Long, it is a pleasure to meet you!"

"How did you know our names already?"

"While the two of you were talking to our associate Mr. Port, I took it upon myself to ask our Guild Marm for your names as I had just arrived from a rather lengthy excursion into town to pick up a few shipments that I had ordered."

"Oh. Okay. So uh, what do you do here Mr-"

"As my associate Ms. Goodwitch has no doubt already told you, I am Bartholomew Oobleck, the Caravans resident traveling merchant! I take pride in my work, having traveled the globe in search of rare artifacts, trinkets, baubles, herbs, scales, claws, you name it I've got it! And not only that, but I do take quite a large amount of pride in my own personal collection of artifacts from the various ruins scattered around our great lands, both to learn from them and to admire them! For you see, I am a firm believer of-"

Yang held up her hand and cut Oobleck's rant off. "Okay, stop."

"Yes Ms. Xiao Long, do you have a question?"

"Yeah, what the heck is wrong with you?"

"Beg your pardon?"

"Why do you talk so much. And like, so fast?"

"Well, Ms. Xiao Long in my experience a fast talker is one who fills his own pockets even faster, and not only is being quick with your words important, it's also important to remember every detail about an item that you have an interest in, comparing it to various other items of the same fashion in the economy so that you know-"

"Okay, I think I got it. Thanks."

Yang glanced over to her sister, seeing that her eyes were spinning in their sockets. Oobleck's ranting had a dizzying effect on her, no doubt. Even Yang was starting to feel a little overwhelmed.

"Well uh, thank you for your time, Mr. Oobleck I think my baby sister here is getting a bit sick from something she ate though, so I'm gonna take her somewhere else and let her... y'know. Hurl."

"Ah yes of course. I wouldn't be surprised if she got sick from that mangy Felyne Street Cook of ours. I myself try to avoid eating his food, as his ingredients are generally less than savory. Take care, ladies!"

With that, Oobleck began sorting through the various items that he had in stock as the pair turned and left.

"Street cook? I could actually go for some food right now. What about you, Rubes?"

"Yeah, I guess. Anything to get us away from Mr. Oobleck for awhile."

As the two of them approached the Street Cook's wagon they heard a particularly loud feminine voice arguing with someone.

"What do you mean you REFUSE to serve us? Do you have ANY idea who I am?"

"I could really care less about who you are, lady! I'm on break! And besides, I only let certified meowmbers of our Caravan eat my purrfect cuisine! Which you, are not!"

"Oh please! I could get better food from a trash can!"

"Then maybe you should go find one and fish out some, you meownstrous madwoman!"

As Ruby and Yang rounded the corner, their eyes settled upon two curious individuals. They both looked to be around Yang's age, a smaller more dainty looking girl that wore a white jacket with red lining. She also had a white skirt to match her jacket. And both articles of clothing matched her hair, which was white as snow and pulled back in a strange ponytail that was on the side of her head rather than the back. Not only that, but she seemed to have just as interesting footwear, as she was wearing knee high boots that also seemed to have platforms on them.

The girl next to her was quite a bit taller, choosing to wear a black vest with a white undershirt. She also had black shorts along with leggings that started off as black, but turned to purple down near her boots. Her long, black hair was also graced with a black bow on top. She seemed to take her footwear a bit more seriously than her associate, as she was wearing plain black combat boots instead.

"What was that about us not being part of the Caravan?"

"You heard meow! The two huntresses who Ozpin recruited already arrived!"

The girl in white slammed a hand down on the table in anger.

"Are you daft? WE'RE the new recruits!"

"Nope! I already saw the new recruits, and you look nothin' like em!"

All three of them turned their attention to both Ruby and Yang, who had gotten a bit closer since they stumbled upon the argument.

"Ah, HERE are our new recruits! It's a pleasure to meet such fine huntresses!"

"THEM?! They look like they couldn't even take on a Jaggi!"

"Hey, we took on a BUNCH of Jaggis! And a Great Jaggi!"

The girl in white simply stared at Ruby, shaking her head in disgust before she turned back to the Street Cook and began arguing with him again.

The girl in black stepped up to the two of them though, and introduced herself.

"Uh, hey. My names Blake. I guess you two took our jobs, huh?"

"Hiya, Blake! I'm Ruby! And uh, I don't think we took anyones jobs. Did we?"

"Well, to be fair, Rubes, we're unexpected extras by the sounds of things. I'm Yang, by the way. Nice to meetcha, Blakey!"

Blake gave them a half smile before she glanced behind her at the girl in white.

"That's Weiss. She's unfortunately my partner."

"EXCUSE ME?! UNFORTUNATELY? You should feel HONORED to be paired up with a Schnee!"

"Gesundheit!" Weiss gave a cold glare to Ruby, as if she had insulted her.

The four of them were interrupted however, by the sound of someone clearing their throat. As they all turned towards the sounds origin, they found Caravaneer Ozpin standing nearby.

"Oh, FINALLY someone who knows what's going on. I assume you are the Caravaneer, yes?"

"I am indeed. You must be Ms. Schnee. It is an honor to have a noble such as yourself in my humble Caravan."

Weiss flashed a triumphant smirk towards the Street Cook before she turned back to Ozpin.

"Yes, it is. You came highly recommended from my father, however. So I assume that your Caravan will be a worthy one."

"I can assure you, Ms. Schnee, that my humble little Caravan will be more than worthy of your legacy. And you..." He turned to Blake before taking a swig from his mug.

"You must be Ms. Belladonna, correct?"

"Yes, Sir. It's nice to meet you."

Before the two could exchange any further words, Weiss stepped forward. "Excuse me sir, I hate to interrupt but before we get the pleasantries out of the way, could you please maybe point these two lost children back to wherever they came from?"

"Oh? And what children would you be talking about, Ms. Schnee?"

"The two children standing in front of us?" Weiss pointed towards Yang and Ruby, her other hand being placed firmly on her hip.

"Woah woah woah, you did NOT just call us kids. Well, okay, Ruby is a kid. But I'm one hundred percent adult."

"Yeah! ...HEY!" Ruby gave her sister a heavy punch to the arm, though it only resulted in getting a small laugh out of Yang.

"Ms. Schnee, I can assure you that there are no children here. The two people you are looking at are two other huntresses that will be joining this Caravan for the foreseeable future."

Both Weiss and Blake's eyes widened a bit as they glanced at the pair in front of them before Blake spoke up first. "You mean...?"

"Yes Ms. Belladonna, starting from today onward, you four are now a team."


	3. Formation: RWBY!

"I refuse!"

"Excuse me?"

"I REFUSE to work with these two! Belladonna being my partner was already testing my patience as is, but I will NOT work with children!"

Everyone directed their gaze at Weiss, who had adamantly stood her ground in her refusal. Ozpin adjusted his glasses slightly before he turned to the noble.

"My apologies, Ms. Schnee. I was not aware that our Caravan's team was not up to your standards."

Weiss let out a haughty pout as she looked at the Caravaneer, crossing her arms as she did so.

"Well, perhaps you should have thought of that before hiring children!"

"Perhaps. Well then, I wish you luck on finding a Caravan that is more suited to your needs."

Weiss froze up, her arms dropping to her sides as she did. Blake's eyes grew wider as her gaze shifted from Weiss to the Caravaneer, while Yang let out a smug laugh.

"You... EXCUSE ME?!"

"Yes? You said that this Caravan was not up to your standards, did you not?"

"I did! So why don't you fix the issue by sending these two away?!"

"Ms. Schnee, these two are fine huntresses from what I've seen. I will not sacrifice their potential simply because one does not wish to get along with them."

Weiss was speechless, turning to her partner for any kind of aid. But she would get none, as Blake simply stared off in another direction, attempting to avoid eye contact with the noble. Surprisingly, the person who spoke up for Weiss was Ruby.

"Please, Weiss! I promise, we're really good at hunting, just give us a chance!"

The smaller huntress had hopped in front of the noble, putting her hands together while giving the biggest puppy dog eyes she could muster. Weiss gave a small scowl as she backed away, clearly unimpressed by the act.

"Respect my personal space, please."

"Sorry. But I don't want you to have to get kicked out of the Caravan!"

Weiss folded her arms yet again and closed her eyes. What options did she have? It was either give these two children a chance to prove themselves useful, or attempt to find another Caravan. And hunting season had just started, there was little chance that she would actually find another Caravan with an empty slot for her. So she would have to begrudgingly give these two a chance, whether she wanted to or not.

"Very well then, Ozpin. I will give these two a chance to prove themselves to me."

Ozpin gave a small smirk as Ruby cheered, though Yang and Blake seemed to be less than thrilled over the situation.

"That is very good news, Ms. Schnee. Very well then, from this day forward you will be known as team RWBY."

"Why RWBY?"

"Because, Ms. Schnee. It sounds rather 'cool' as the children these days say."

Ruby and Yang gave a firm nod, while Blake and Weiss simply rolled their eyes.

"Anyway, you will find that your living arrangements have already been taken care of."

Ozpin gestured to a rather large blue vehicle near the back of their camp, which was situated right next to one of the same size.

"The vehicle on the left is where the four of you will be staying, the vehicle on the right is for myself and the others I have employed."

"Wait, we have to LIVE TOGETHER?!"

"That is correct, Ms. Schnee. Will that be a problem?"

Was it maybe too late to head back home? ...No, she couldn't now. She had far too much to lose. Most of it being money she spent to craft her gear and get her supplies.

"...No sir... not at all..."

"Very good. I advise you all to get rest, for tomorrow there will be plenty of work to be done. I assume you will all be going on your first hunt together, yes?"

"Ooooh, that would be so AWESOME! What kind of requests does this caravan have on its board?!"

"I can assure you, Ms. Rose, that you will all have plenty of requests befitting of your status as up and coming huntresses. But for now, rest and get to know each other. After all, you will be putting your lives in each others hands on the fields."

The sun in the sky began hanging low, a dull orange coloring the landscape as night approached. The rest of the day had gone... okay so far, but dinner was proving to be a bit more... charged, conversation wise.

"I assume you have food for those that don't eat that disgusting and vile meat, yes?"

"You'll eat what you get or you won't eat!"

"How DARE you say such a thing to me, you filthy little fleabag!"

Nobody else seemed to object to the cooking that the Street Cook had made. Out of everyone, Yang seemed to have the least problem with the food, practically inhaling it as soon as she was served.

"See? Somebody appreciates my cooking, unlike you!"

"I highly doubt that barbarian even tasted this slop as it went down her throat!"

"Weiss, just shut up and eat the food."

"What?! Can you seriously say with a straight face that you ENJOY this food, Blake?!"

In response, Blake simply stared at Weiss with narrowed and unamused looking eyes. When Weiss looked down, she saw that her partners plate had been filled with all manner of seafood, resulting in a groan from the noble.

"Of course fish would win you over. You have no shame."

"Hey, watch it! I won't have you talking that way to a fellow feline!"

Yang and Ruby both glanced over at the Street Cook, then at Blake. What could he have possibly meant by that?

Blake instinctively blushed and turned away from the group, trying to cover her face a bit as she did.

"Eh? Did I say something offensive?"

"Yes actually. My partner prefers her race to not be a commonly known subject."

"Why's that? All cats should be purroud of their felineage!"

Blake turned to Ruby and Yang, sighing a bit as she did. There was no point in hiding it now, since she had just been given away by the cook. Her hands moved to the bow situated on her head, pausing for a brief moment. Blake shut her eyes tightly as she undid the bow, revealing two cat ears in its place. Ruby's mouth was agape while Yang placed her hand under her chin and gave off a small smirk.

"You... you have KITTY EARS!"

"Shhh! Ruby, I don't like talking about these."

"Why not? They're so CUTE!"

"Because, my kind don't exactly have a great reputation."

"Huh? Why not?"

"Because of the civil war between Faunus and Humans."

Everyone turned to the Street Cook, who stared back and gave a confused shrug. "What, I can't be up to date on the times just cos I'm a felyne?"

"He's right though, there was a big civil war between the two races for quite some time. A lot of humans looked down on us, seeing us more as felynes then equals. Uh, no offense, cook."

"None taken! It's no secret that us Felynes are treated as less than equals! But that's life. Maybe one day that'll change!"

"So that's why I keep this bow on. It's the only way to be treated as an equal."

Ruby slumped down in her seat a bit. She couldn't understand how such a terrible thing could happen, and continue happening. But she could at least understand why Blake had the bow now.

"Well, as much fun as it is talking about such a lovely subject, I am going to retire for the night. Hopefully you all will do the same, I don't need three half asleep huntresses stumbling around on our hunt tomorrow."

As Weiss marched back to their quarters, Blake decided to follow suit. Leaving just Yang and Ruby alone with the cook, who had begun cleaning the dishes.

"I don't like that Weiss girl. She seems like she's got a Konchu wedged firmly up her-"

"YANG!"

"What?! She does!"

"Look, things will be better tomorrow. We'll prove to her just how awesome we can be when we go on our first hunt as a team!"

Yang let out a sigh before smiling and putting a hand on her younger sisters shoulder.

"Ah Rubes, I wish I could have your naive enthusiasm sometimes."

Ruby responded by puffing her cheeks up and smacking her sisters hand off her shoulder. The small huntress hopped off the bench and marched off to their house on wheels, her older sister giving chase.

"Aw come on I was just kidding!"

Early next morning, three of the huntresses hopped out of bed and proceeded to get dressed. Though it wasn't long before they took notice of one missing huntress.

"Xiao Long, where is your sister?"

"Dunno. I don't exactly keep a leash on her, y'know."

"Perhaps you should, I won't put up with a small child flailing around aimlessly on the battlefield."

"Yeah yeah blah blah, I'm sure she's fine. Let's just go get breakfast."

The three proceeded to stop by the Street Cook, who fixed them up a small breakfast of Gargwa Omelettes before sending them off so he could go into town for a few new recipe books. The three huntresses then decided to head over to the Guild Marm, to see if any interesting requests had been placed for them. When they got there, they were surprised to see Ruby already sifting through the various requests on the bulletin. Though there didn't seem to be much for her to work with.

"Is this REALLY all you've got?"

"Yes Ms. Rose, for the last time. That is it. You are all just fledgling huntresses, don't expect to run off and start hunting Rathians on your first day."

"Aw maaaaaan... I guess we'll just take this one then."

"Do you not wish to consult your team on this matter? They may wish to take up a different request."

"I don't really think it matters right now..."

"Really? Because I would like a say in what we're being dragged into."

Ruby turned to see the rest of her team behind her, with Weiss folding her arms and tapping her foot impatiently.

"Oh. Hi guys... Sorry, but we don't have anything good yet. This was the most interesting thing I could find..."

Weiss responded by snatching the paper out of Ruby's hand, holding it up so the rest of them could read it.

Yang's faced scrunched up briefly as she stared at the paper. "Wow. That sucks."

"WHAT?! THIS IS IT?! No, there HAS to be something more suited for my skill!"

Weiss rushed up to the bulletin board and began ripping through the requests for around five minutes before she finally stopped and walked back to the group.

"...Nothing. Nothing at all!"

Blake placed a hand on her partners shoulder and gave her a sympathetic smile. "Well, nobody said we'd get to start with all the glamorous stuff."

Ruby grabbed the piece of paper and held it up high, deciding to take a vote on it even though she knew the outcome. "So uh, are we all agreed for this then?"

"I guess."

"I'm fine with it."

"...Alright..."

Ruby gave a nod as she turned back to Ms. Goodwitch, handing the paper over to her.

"This is the job we'll be taking then! ...Yay?"

Ms. Goodwitch nodded as she stamped the paper and handed it back to them.

"Very well, please head to the path over on the west side of the site. There you will find a wagon that will take you to your destination."

The four of them nodded as they each hoisted their weapons up and walked to the designated area. It took around five minutes for the first wagon to arrive, all of them loading up onto it quickly before it set off for the Ancestral Steppe.

After the short twenty minute ride, the four of them hopped off the wagon and planted their feet on the ground. Once the group had fished out their supplies from the blue hunting association supply box, Ruby attempted to raise morale a bit.

"Okay team let's do this! Our first official hunt! Remember we need to..."

Ruby held up the paper again before briefly lowering it, a sigh escaping her lips as her face scrunched up into a disappointed scowl.

"...We need to hunt twenty Bnahabras... Ugh."

Everyone could already tell, this was going to be a long day.


	4. Bnahabra Bonanza

"HURGH! JUST. HOLD. STILL."

Ruby violently swung her greatsword towards the large insect, which dodged out of her attack before flying up just out of reach. In response, Ruby let out another shout of frustration as she began wildly swinging her weapon at the other Bnahabras that would occasionally attempt to fly in for a sting, missing each and everyone one as she flailed around.

Once she had tired herself out, she glanced over at her teammate, Blake, who was simply sitting on a rock with her eyes shut.

"Uh, Blake? Little help here please?"

There was no response from Blake, as she continued to sit silently on the rock. Ruby stared in confusion until she saw one of the bnahabra fly up behind Blake, readying its proboscis as it stalked closer to her head.

"BLAKE, LOO-"

In a flash, Blake jumped up and whipped around, pulling out two rather sharp looking swords. One swift slash was all it took to eviscerate the bnahabra that had foolishly sought to try and attack her.

"That's one." Blake said aloud as she sheathed her blades and sat back down on the rock.

"Wooah..."

Ruby stared in awe at her teammate, even if it was just a simple bnahabra that she sliced up, it was still extremely awesome to watch.

"That was so cooAUGH!"

Ruby was interupted by the pleasant sensation of having a stinger jammed in her back, sending her to the floor, stricken with paralysis.

"Might want to watch out for those." Blake deadpanned as she stared at the girl writhing on the floor in front of her.

"G-g-g-g-ee t-t-t-th-an-ks B-B-Bla-ke."

As Ruby continued to spaz out on the ground, she hoped her sister was having a better time than she was.

"Can you get off your butt and actually help me with these things, PLEASE?!"

Yang was hoping that her sister was having a better time than her. Because her time with the prissy noble, Weiss was completely frustrating and horrible.

Weiss had taken to sitting on a nearby rock, filing her nails as she watched Yang get battered back and forth by both a pack of bnahabra and a pack of jaggi that had found their way into the area shortly after they heard the sounds of conflict.

"I thought you said that you and your sister were perfectly capable huntresses that could at least take on a Great Jaggi. My help should not be required for such a mundane task."

Yang let out a low growl as she socked a jaggi square in its jaw, sending it flying across the field. Before she could even turn to strike another, she felt a jaggi pounce on her back, knocking her to the ground once more. In response, she let out a brutish war-cry as she launched the jaggi off her back and began wildly swinging at whatever was within her reach.

Not even a few seconds later, three dead jaggi's were lying at her feet, along with the remains of four bnahabra that had strayed too close as well.

As Yang began panting over the amount of energy she exerted over her storm, she could have swore she heard the sound of clapping coming from Weiss's direction.

"Well done, Xiao Long. You've proven yourself as only slightly incompetent when dealing with minor nuisances!"

Yang shot the noble a nasty glare, before she saw something sneaking up on the heiress. As a form of payback, she decided to keep her mouth shut.

"Well, if you are quite done with wasting my time, I think we should go meet up with Belladonna and your equally incompetent sisTURGH!"

Weiss was sent tumbling off the rock and face first into the dirt as a lone jaggi snuck up behind her and pounced, earning a loud laugh from Yang as she watched the entire spectacle.

Yang watched as the noble hopped to her feet and began spouting insults at the jaggi, which tilted its head and let out a bark in confusion before it charged back at her. Weiss pulled out a particularly powerful looking long sword and calmly slashed the jaggi clean in two before sheathing the blade.

The noble turned to her teammate, a scowl on her face as she did.

"Perhaps next time warn me when an enemy is sneaking up behind me."

"Oh right right, sorry. I was distracted with these jaggi corpses. Gotta carve off all the good stuff, y'know? Plus, I figured an incredibly skilled swordmaster like yourself was always aware of her surroundings."

"Unfortunately, even someone as skilled as myself cannot always be aware of her surroundings. Especially not when she is distracted by a degenerate such as yourself."

Yang stood up and shot the noble a glare before she glanced down at her sword. Something was off about that sword.

"Aren't you just starting out as a huntress too?"

"Don't even think about comparing my combat prowess to yours, I'll have you know that I was trained by-"

"I'm not talking about that. Your sword."

"What about my sword?"

"That's a pretty fancy looking sword that you use. How'd you get it?"

In response, Weiss unsheathed the blade. The blade of the sword had a cool silvery gleam to it, while the hilt of the blade was cool blue. Halfway down, two golden orbs were built into the hilt, spread just enough apart for someone to grab the area between them. And at the end of the hilt, a gold tip was placed.

"This sword? It's called Edel's Snowflake. It is a finely crafted and rather expensive sword forged from Lagombi parts."

Yang cocked an eyebrow as she stared at the blade. There was no way she got that legitimately.

"And how exactly did a fresh huntress kill a lagombi on her own, huh?"

"It was a parting gift from my sister. It is the blade she wielded as a huntress long before she obtained better ones."

"So, you didn't make it yourself then?"

"Of course not. Why would I do such a thing?"

"Because it's like, a rule. Hunters and Huntresses are supposed to gather their own materials and make their own weapons."

"That rule is hardly enforced."

Yang pinched the bridge of her nose as she stamped her foot.

"That's not the point. The point is that you put in the blood, sweat and tears so that your weapon actually means something to you."

"Are you saying that because I didn't make my weapon that makes me any less of a huntress? Because that idea is quite preposterous. I can cut down a monster with a bought blade just as I can cut one down with a hand crafted one. It matters not which."

Yang let out a sigh. It was clear that someone like Weiss wouldn't understand what forging your own weapon was like, so there was no point in trying to argue with the noble any longer. Instead she decided to just head over to the area that Blake and Ruby had decided to hunt in.

"And just where do you think YOU'RE going?"

"To go meet up with the rest of our team. You can stay here and sift through jaggi dung if you want."

Weiss scoffed loudly as she followed behind Yang. "I will do no such thing, and you shouldn't even DARE suggest such an idea either!"

Meanwhile, Ruby had found herself once again on the ground, twitching and writhing as paralytic venom coursed through her veins.

"You're never going to get anywhere by swinging your weapon around wildly like that."

Ruby managed to drag herself to her feet, only to see her teammate still sitting on the same rock, reading a book that she had brought with her.

"Well MAYBE if I had some help I would be GETTING SOMEWHERE!" To emphasize her annoyance, Ruby stamped her foot on the ground.

But Blake simply ignored her and continued reading on.

"If you can't do such a simple task like this by yourself, you shouldn't even call yourself a huntress."

"WHAT?!"

Ruby's face turned red with anger, her cheeks puffing out as well. She soon returned to swinging away at the bnahabra, though she continued to miss. As she attempted to strike down the bnahabra, she began mumbling to herself.

"I'll show her. I'll kill TWICE as many... no, THREE... wait a minute... FOUR times as many bnahabra as everyone else! And then she'll be all like 'Wow, Ruby! You're such a cool huntress, I'm sorry I ever doubted you!' and I'll say 'Oh thank you Blake! I AM a cool huntress, aren't I? Would you maybe like some advice on how to be as cool as I am?' and then we'll all be friends. Maybe."

"If only you could plan that far ahead while doing something actually meaningful."

"AGH!"

Ruby jumped into the air as she heard a voice come from behind her, turning to see that Blake had silently snuck up on her while she was busy ranting to herself.

"Oh uh, hi Blake. I uh, I totally didn't say anything earlier, I think you were probably just hearing things and uh-"

Blake responded by grabbing Ruby by the shoulders, easing her down onto a nearby rock.

"Uuuh... what are you doing?"

"Sit here and don't move. Don't talk either."

After she had given her instructions, Blake walked a few steps away from the rock and turned to stare at the little red huntress.

A few minutes passed in silence, with Ruby's eyes nervously darting back and forth, scanning the environment as they did. It wasn't until Ruby heard the familiar sound of bnahabra wings buzzing close by her ears when she realized what Blake was trying to do.

Turning her head slowly, she noticed that a bnahabra was easing its way towards her side. Ruby briefly turned back to Blake, who's eyes had narrowed as she stared at both Ruby and the bnahabra. Taking this as a sign to act, Ruby quickly drew her greatsword and sliced the bnahabra in half.

"Hey! I did it!"

Blake's half-glare turned into a smile as she walked over to the red huntress.

"Well done. With some creatures, patience is the key. Remember that we won't always rely on brute strength to force our way through our tasks."

"Heh, yeah I read you loud and clear!"

"Good. Now do it again."

"...What?"

"We still have more to kill, so do it again. And again. Until I tell you to stop."

Ruby let out a whimper as Blake returned to the position she was in before. This was so boring.

When Yang and Weiss finally got to their teammates, the two of them were baffled by the sight that greeted them.

Both Blake and Ruby were perched on two separate rocks, pieces of bnahabra's were scattered around their bases. Both of them seemed to be calmly meditating, their closed eyes and silent demeanor's hinting at the idea. It wasn't until a bnahabra inched into Ruby's reach when they found out that they were doing anything BUT meditating.

The two approached their partners as Ruby slashed apart another bnahabra, surely they had cut down more than enough for the task at hand.

"So uh, hey guys. We're all done on our side."

Ruby hopped off the rock she was situated on and folded her greatsword up, placing it on the holster located on her back. "Awesome! How many did you guys get?"

"Uuuh, lets see..." Yang proceeded to hold out her fingers and count them one by one. In reality, she hadn't been keeping track at all.

"At least ten. It was hard to tell with all the jaggis that your brute of a sister attracted with her crazed war cries."

Yang shot Weiss a glare, her right eye twitching a bit as she did. "Well at least I actually did some work. Unlike some people who sat on a rock and filed her nails!"

Weiss simply rolled her eyes in return and then directed her attention to Blake. "And how did your side do, Belladonna?"

"I cut down around five, Ruby cut down ten."

Weiss gave a firm nod as she turned around and began walking in the direction of base camp. "Very well, I believe that will suffice for our task." Blake proceeded to follow her.

Ruby and Yang let out a sigh as they followed their other two teammates, today surely couldn't get any worse.

...Which is what they probably should have held out on saying once their team had returned to Val Harbor, as the entire city was in mass hysteria when they returned.

While most of the civilians were running around panicking, hunters were flooding out of the hunting guild and heading toward the dock area.

Ruby managed to pull one of the guards attention for long enough to find out what was happening.

"Sir! What's going on, WHY IS EVERYONE FREAKING OUT?!"

"How could you four not have heard the alarms?!"

"We just got back from a mission!"

"I-I see... Well, according to the scouts a... a..."

Weiss stepped in front of Ruby and folded her arms in annoyance. "Spit it out already, guardsman, my time is valuable."

"A Dah'ren Mohran is headed straight for the city!"


	5. Destructive Dah'ren Dance

The journey so far had been rather uneventful, up until the ocean of sand they had been sailing over began to stir restlessly. Dah'Ren Mohran weren't exactly the most stealthy of Elder Dragons, so it took little effort for her to sense that it was coming from miles away. The bigger concern of hers was why it was specifically targeting her small boat?

She had little in the way of cargo, just two young hunters that she managed to recruit. This isn't the first Elder Dragon that she's seen in the past few months, she had been seeing them appear quite frequently as of late. What exactly had been stirring up so many of these Elder Dragons?

The ship rocked back and forth once more as the Dah'Ren Mohran brushed against the side. Clearly it was either toying with them or trying to assess if they would be a major threat to it or not. After it was finished with its brief attack, it dove back into the sand and distanced itself from the ship. As she continued to watch the beast, she heard footsteps come from behind her.

"Ms. Fall, what's going on? Are we under attack from something?"

Turning to the red-haired huntress, Cinder nodded as as she raised an arm in the direction of where the Dah'ren Mohran had previously been.

"We appear to have an unexpected problem."

As if to emphasize her point, the Dah'ren Mohran briefly exited the sand and let out a mighty roar before diving back underneath the waves. Upon gazing at the Elder Dragon, the young woman's face paled up considerably. Which was to be expected given the fact that it was one of the most deadly creatures on the planet.

Cinder's eyes glanced back out into the ocean of sand to see that the Dah'ren Mohran was turning back towards the ship, most likely with the full intent of ramming it with its giant knifelike horn.

"If you would please, Ms. Nikos, wake up your partner. I would like to survive this trip to Val Harbor."

The girl named Nikos gave a firm nod as she rushed below deck, the Dah'ren Mohran inching ever closer to the ship with every passing moment. The closer the creature got, the more frustrated that Cinder was. Eventually, she was forced to do her hunters job for them, since they were so keen on goofing off in the face of death, apparently.

Reaching into a nearby crate, she pulled out a particularly large cannonball and carried it to the nearest cannon on the side of the ship. Placing it inside the cannon, Cinder fired it when the Dah'ren Mohran was within range, scoring a direct hit under one of its eyeballs. In response to the sudden pain, the Dah'ren Mohran let out a short roar as it cancelled its ramming attack and dove back under the sands.

"Ms. Fall, I've woken Jaune up!"

Cinder turned to see her two hunters standing in front of her, though the one named Jaune... It took a few hours of convincing from Ms. Nikos to even think of allowing him to join them, and even now she was thoroughly regretting her choice as the blonde was now standing in front of her, sword and shield in hand...

While also missing half his armor. Above his waist he was sufficiently armored enough with some platemail, but below the waist was nothing but a pair of what she assumed were boxer shorts.

The two of them noticed the unimpressed stare their boss was giving them, warranting an explanation from Jaune.

"Uh, sorry. It was such short notice that I kinda didn't get all my armor on!"

"Perhaps if we survive you will be known as the man who fought an elder dragon in his underwear."

Jaune scratched his head in confusion, his eyes glancing between both Cinder and Pyrrha briefly.

"A what?"

As if to answer his question, the Dah'ren Mohran surged out of the sand and flung itself over their small vessel before plunging itself back into the depths of the desert.

"W-w-what is THAT?!"

"That is a Dah'ren Mohran. And it has set its sights on the destruction of our little vessel, given its aggressive behavior."

Jaune's face, or rather his entire body, went white as he watched the creature surface from the sand once again, this time swimming alongside the boat as it traveled along.

And he promptly passed out.

Pyrrha dropped to her knees on the deck and placed his head on her lap, glancing up at her employer as she did.

"I'm sorry! It's just, we weren't expecting-"

Cinder held up a hand before she could finish. "Now is not the time for this. This vessel, and our lives as a result, are in danger. You were the one to convince me to bring him, so he is your responsibility. Wake him up and get to work doing what I hired you to do."

Pyrrha gave a firm nod as she quickly got to work waking her partner up. Meanwhile, Cinder had returned to the bow of the ship, glancing out in the distance to see ships of varying sizes branching out from Val Harbor, no doubt to retaliate against the encroaching Elder Dragon. Hopefully they would get within range before things got any worse.

"Ugh... Pyrrha, please tell me I was just seeing things and collapsed from heat exhaustion."

"I'm afraid not. We need to get you up and man the cannons, NOW!"

Jaune let out a groan as he hopped to his feet, his eyes once again taking in the figure of the Dah'ren Mohran as it slammed its torso into their ship, ripping through pieces of the hull as it did. Pyrrha and Jaune managed to keep their footing long enough to each grab a cannonball, using them to weigh themselves down further as they approached the cannons. Jaune nearly went off the side of the boat as the creature pushed itself away briefly, allowing the ship to slam back down into the sand.

The two hunters loaded their respective cannons and took aim at the creature. Pyrrha fired off a shot and managed to strike one of the creatures fins as it raised it above the sand, resulting in a loud roar signaling that the creature was no doubt enraged at the pain.

"How do you fire this thing?!"

"Pull the rope, Jaune!"

Jaune did as his partner instructed, pulling said rope. The recoil from the cannon firing knocked him clear across the boat, while the shot he fired completely missed its target.

Cinder watched the blonde flop onto the deck and scramble to his feet before charging back to his cannon. She briefly shut her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. How did he miss a target so big?

When Jaune got back to his cannon, both him and Pyrrha were subsequently knocked away from both of theirs as a rain of sand poured down on them.

Jaune had to spit a clump of sand out of his mouth before he spoke. "What was that?!"

"Dah'ren Mohran can shoot concentrated blasts of sand form their blowhole... Look out!" Pyrrha's warning came too late though, as another torrent of sand blew Jaune off his feet almost as soon as he managed to get back on them.

Pyrrha ran over to her partner and helped him to his feet once more, another torrent of sand crashing down nearby as she did. The two of them managed to trudge their way back to the cannons under the intense barrage, taking aim once more at the great beast that was inching closer to their ship, most likely so it could ram into it once more. Again, both of them fired off their respective cannons. Pyrrha once again struck the creature dead on, this time hitting its torso. While Jaune managed to strike a bullseye, or rather the Dah'ren's eye, causing the elder dragon to roar in pain as it distanced itself from the boat.

The elder dragon fired off another barrage of sand from its blowhole, pelting the entire deck of the ship with a tidal wave of sand. All three of the vessels crew found themselves on the deck, struggling to get to their feet as the elder dragon began another attempt to ram them.

However, just before the Dah'ren Mohran could strike the ship once more, a hail of gunfire spread across its body, ripping its armored hide to shreds. The trio looked up over the bow of their ship to see a literal navy heading to intercept the Dah'ren Mohran as it fled the area, obviously not wanting to deal with more than one boat today. Both Jaune and Pyrrha breathed a deep sigh of relief as they watched the creature flee, before turning to their employer.

"Well, that was certainly an interesting way to start our career."

Cinder gave the two of them what seemed like a glare? But she was also smiling a bit, so it was sending a lot of signals that were getting mixed up.

"Ms. Nikos, your performance was certainly above a hunter of your rank. And Mr. Arc, your performance was... adequate."

Jaune gazed at the deck and let out a small sigh. At least it was better then the previous "compliments" she had given him before they set sail in the first place. Either way, they survived long enough for the more qualified hunters to come in and save them, so he at least was happy about that. Dying to an Elder Dragon before you've even had your first official hunt wasn't the worst way to go, after all he could have died to some random jaggi during his early training all the same, but it still was something he was glad to have avoided.

As their ship grew closer to Val Harbor, a sense of tension was rising. They were joining a caravan with two other people that they had yet to meet, and on top of that they had yet to even meet their caravaneer.

"So uh, Ms. Fall. Will we be meeting the Caravaneer when we make landfall?"

"No. Our employer does not travel with the caravan. She has... important business elsewhere most of the time."

Both Jaune and Pyrrha glanced at each other before turning back to Cinder.

"Then who's in charge of everything that goes on?"

With a smile that made both their hairs stand on end for some strange and unfathomable reason, Cinder leaned against the railing of the ship.

"I am."

* * *

 **Author's Notes**

I'd like to apologize for how long it took to get such a short chapter out, I've been sidetracked with another story of mine that has recently boomed in popularity.  
And I'd also like to apologize in advance when I say that this story will be slowing down a bit on the updates, but not to worry! I won't be dropping this project any time soon.


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